STAMFORD -- Metro-North New Haven Line riders' frustration has mounted this summer as they've had to cope with late trains, slow trains and long travel times caused by the extensive track and tie replacement projects in the Bronx and on other stretches of railway.

Trains are almost invariably delayed up to 15 minutes, commuters interviewed at the Stamford train station said this week. They said they want more details from the railroad about what, specifically, causes the delays. They also said they worry the travel times won't return to what they once were, and that the track work will go on indefinitely.

"The most disconcerting aspect of the whole situation is Metro-North has no timetable for how long it will go on with the delays," Wilton resident Terry Bonini said as he waited for a train at the Stamford station earlier this week. "The situation among commuters is they don't think Metro-North is being forthright about how much work they are doing."

The railroad put out a new timetable in mid-August that was adapted to the track work, but it's often wrong, Bonini said. His regular 5:52 p.m. train to Cannondale often arrives 15 or more minutes late, he said.

Terri Minogue, a Stamford commuter who resorted to taking an earlier train to her job in Manhattan to cope with the delays, said she thinks customers would be less upset if conductors were able to explain the source of the delays. She also worries that the railroad won't ever get the travel time back to what it was when trains ran faster prior to the stepped-up safety work.

"Part of the reason my husband and I purchased a home in Stamford was the convenience of the 45-minute commute," Minogue said. "It's not even that I would like a discount, but I would just like to know what is going on and when things change."

Stephen Rich, a Stamford commuter who works in downtown Manhattan, said he is also worried that the repair work might continue for a long time. He said that given the longer travel time to the city, the railroad should discount monthly commuter passes until it begins meeting its former on-time standards.

"It takes more than an hour, and it was 45 minutes four months ago," Rich said. "I wish they'd decide to give us a discount, but I know that would never happen."

"Yes, I've been late, and yes I've been inconvenienced, but this is typical of Metro-North," he said.

Resigned to the situation

And Khurram Ali, a banker who commutes to Stamford from points north said the delays are still ongoing, but the new schedule has normalized expectations somewhat.

"It has gotten better, so the remaining delays are not so bad," Ali said.

The track work was originally scheduled for completion by Labor Day, but after the May derailment that injured 76 people, Metro-North hired an outside company to inspect the New Haven Line's tracks with ground-penetrating radar, which turned up more serious deterioration in the tracks, ties and underlying foundation, and the scope of the repair work was greatly expanded. The completion date for the work has now been pushed out to Nov. 17.

Speed restrictions for safety

The ground-penetrating radar has turned up a large number of short-term track repairs that have to be made, which requires speed restrictions, Metro-North Railroad spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said. Most of time the slow-speed orders cut trains to just under the normal 70 miles per hour, but in a half dozen cases the speed had to be cut to 10 miles per hour. In those cases, all repairs were completed within 48 hours, she said.

"We have a lot of track work to do," Anders said. --Once it's done, we need to stay on top of it with a more aggressive track maintenance program, which is being developed."

On-time performance fell from 94 percent in May to 89 percent in August, according to the railroad, before rebounding to 94 percent in September.

"There is going to be continuous work and a lot of this is a reaction to the derailment," Redeker said. --I don't think there is a lot of choice because it is the right thing to do, though there is no date for when we might be done."

Another factor that might affect the department's ability to keep the public up to date is the NTSB investigation of the derailment, which is still ongoing, Redeker said. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the department might have to fast track other infrastructure projects that could affect service.

"There is a hearing in October and we don't know what is coming out," Redeker said. "Until we get some of that information and what some of the investigation is finding it might be premature to put some information out."

NTSB hearings in Washington, D.C., are scheduled for Oct. 22 and 23, at which the derailment and the death of a track worker near the West Haven station are expected to discussed.